Great Dramas — discover over 150 movie dramas here on our index page,
including such classics as: CHINATOWN, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
Our Dramas index includes horror films, westerns, murder-mysteries, war movies, crime dramas, and more...

12 YEARS A SLAVE is based on the true story of Solomon Northup's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man from upstate New York who is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing the cruel slave master Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to live, but to keep his dignity. In the twelfth year of his ordeal, his chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) forever changes his life.

(Biography, Drama, History)

21 GRAMS creates a dramatic tapestry that weaves together the life threads of an ex-con, a widowed woman, and a fatally ill mathematician. With one fateful day aligning these three lives together, it will be a continual struggle thereafter for the three to learn how to cope with and perhaps forgive each other, as their lives inch away, gram by gram.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

ABSENCE OF MALICE picks up three years after the murder of an alleged union striker. The suspect: Mike Gallagher, son of a former Mafia boss. When a young female reporter gets involved in the case things turn messy as "bad" facts and "false" leads get printed. In an attempt to rectify her wrongs Megan Carter begins a more personal approach to her investigation. But sometimes there's a fine line between business and pleasure and there are certain lines you don't cross, and certain stories you don't tell.

(Drama, Romance, Thriller)

Lonely screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is in a bit of a pinch. He needs to adapt the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean. What's more, he needs to not only recount the life of Orlean, and her reason behind her tale, but he needs to do it with a panache that distinguishes his film from that of the rest of the Hollywood crap being mass produced. But with Charlie on the brink of insanity caused by a severe writer's block and an annoying live-in twin brother, it seems he has his work cut out for him. Deciding to follow Susan to learn of her connection to the book "The Orchid Thief", will Charlie be able to write the screenplay of a lifetime before he loses his grip on reality?

(Comedy, Drama)

In this classic tale of betrayal and ambition, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is an aspiring actress who cultivates friendships with three powerful show business figures — playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), director Bill Simpson (Gary Merrill) and aging Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis). Posing as a devoted fan of Margo, Eve aims to supplant her. Broadway critic Addison DeWitt sizes up Eve for what she is and becomes her mentor. Eve ultimately achieves her goal of Broadway stardom, leaving a trail of bitterness and resentment in her wake. Bette Davis is said to have based the character of Margo on legendary film actress Talulah Bankhead.

(Drama)

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN tells the story of how the two reporters from The Washington Post, Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), who broke the Watergate story that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

(Drama, Thriller)

The story of the last 10 years of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life is narrated through flashbacks by his jealous, now feeble and insane rival, 18th century royal court composer Antonio Salieri, to a young priest who comes to counsel him about his attempted suicide — which has landed Salieri in an insane asylum.

(Biography, Drama, History)

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) are, to the outside world, a perfect husband and wife in a perfect house in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into depression and ennui — the highlight of his days comes every morning when he pleasures himself in the shower. His wife has begun an affair with a business rival, and now Lester has become dangerously infatuated with one of his daughter Jane's teenaged friends. Meanwhile, Jane is developing an intimate and erotic friendship with a shy neighbor named Ricky, who lives under the thumb of his hot-headed and abusive father.

(Drama, Romance)

After the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) establishes himself as the leading importer of heroin in Harlem in Ridley Scott's AMERICAN GANGSTER. Lucas buys his heroin directly from its South East Asia source, and he devises a unique way of importing it into the United States. As a result, his product is better and cheaper than anything else on the street. His alliance with the New York Mafia further secures his position. AMERICAN GANGSTER is also the story of a dedicated and honest policeman, Richie Roberts, who leads a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government tasked with taking Lucas down. Based on a true story.

(Biography, Crime, Drama )

Few trips down memory lane have been filmed with the atmosphere and magical acuity as American Graffiti, George Lucas's loving ode to innocence and the long-lost car culture of the early '60s. The film, set on the last night of summer in 1962, follows the adventures of four people — best friends Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steve Bolander (Ron Howard) as they wrestle with big decisions about college and relationships, drag-strip king John Milner (Paul Le Mat) and uber-nerd Terry "The Toad" Fields (Charles Martin Smith).

(Comedy, Drama, Romance)

AMERICAN HISTORY X is a powerful drama that dives into the racist skinhead subculture of contemporary America, telling its story through the lens of a young man named Derek Vineyard; former leader of the Neo-Nazi movement in Southern California, who, after three years in prison, emerges a changed man ready to spread his new perspective on life and try to rescue his younger brother from the same Neo-Nazis he once led and inspired.

(Crime, Drama)

AMISTAD is Steven Spielberg's masterful retelling of the historical court case dubbed "the trial of the presidents". It reveals the harrowing plight of a group of West Africans who daringly mutinied aboard their slave ship, La Amistad, on its way to America. Led by one man, they struggled to survive their deadly trans-Atlantic journey and the bruising legal and cultural grounds of America. With attorney Baldwin and former president John Quincy Adams on their side, the Africans appear before the Supreme Court in a trial that will forever alter the course of both Africa and the newly-founded United States of America.

(Drama, History)

Based on the real-life Apollo 13 space expedition of 1970, APOLLO 13 follows the precarious moon-bound mission that nearly ended in disaster and death. When astronauts Lovell, Haise, and Swigert are moved up to the 13th mission they become part of one of the biggest projects in NASA history: the third lunar-landing attempt. Already having achieved their lunar-landing goal, Apollo 13 gathers little press until the trip begins to go horribly awry, leaving the nation watching in suspense as the astronauts try and navigate their way safely back to earth, against all odds.

(Adventure, Drama, History)

In 1979, the American embassy in Tehran is seized by Iranian revolutionaries. Most of the American State Department employees inside are taken hostage, but six of them manage a tenuous escape and are hiding in the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador. It's only a matter of time before the Iranian government realizes some of the Americans are missing, so the CIA must work against the clock and cobble together a plan to get the six safely out of the country before the Revolutionary Guard comes looking for them. Enter exfiltration expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), who devises an ingenious and daring plan: recast the six Americans as Canadian filmmakers who are working on a phony Canadian film project (dubbed "Argo") looking to shoot in Iran — and spirit them out under the nose of the Iranian government. With the aid of some trusted and savvy Hollywood contacts, Mendez fleshes out his ruse and enters Iran posing as a Canadian film producer.

(Drama, History, Thriller)

BASIC INSTINCT is a racy, raunchy, hard-boiled murder mystery crackling with sexual and psychological tension. It follows the efforts and exertions of San Francisco Police Department Detective Nick Curran as he tries to solve the latest homicide case in which the deadly yet enticing Catherine Tramell, psychologist and author, is the primary suspect. A hot-blooded collision of personal and professional affairs gets things steamy as the plot races toward its climactic finish. BASIC INSTINCT walks the fine line between sex, sexuality, love, and murder, and shows how thrilling it can be on either side of it.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

An A-list cast shines in this continued tale of the Dark Knight of Gotham City. This time around, Batman has to battle two villains: Two-Face and the Riddler. The former blames Batman for his unsightly appearance, simply wanting him dead. The latter, however, is a vengeful former employee of Wayne Enterprises who, jealous of the celebrity status of Bruce Wayne, uses his riddling powers to manipulate both Wayne and Batman, gaining insight into Bruce's double-identity along the way. Meanwhile, the beautiful, albeit eclectic Dr. Chase Meridian moves in on Wayne's personal life and one Dick Grayson, left orphaned after his parents encountered Two-Face joins Batman's vengeful pursuits as none other than Robin the "Boy Wonder."

(Action, Adventure, Fantasy)

An inspiring story of math prodigy, Princeton Professor John Forbes Nash Jr., a man gifted with a brilliant mind which also was afflicted with schizophrenia, a condition that causes complications in his marriage, work, and outlook on life. He struggles to conquer his phantom delusions, find useful ways to be helpful, keep his marriage together and continue in his work which leads to a Nobel Prize.

(Biography, Drama)

A rich, Jewish merchant in Jerusalem, who is unjustly condemned and sent to row in the galley of a Roman military ship, vows to return to Jerusalem to get revenge against the corrupt Roman who sent him there.

This 3 hour 20 minute film is one of the most honored films ever made. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won 11 including Best Picture, Best Actor (Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Griffith), Best Director, and Best Music.

(Adventure, Drama, History)

BERNIE introduces us to Bernie Tiede (Jack Black), a chubby undertaker and Gospel-singing tenor who was convicted of murder for killing a rich and widely-reviled widow named Marjorie Nugent (played by Shirley MacLaine). The movie tells its true story by interweaving highly-entertaining reenactments with a series of interviews with the townspeople of Carthage, Texas (pop. 7,000), where this strange and singular tale unfolded. Bernie draws Marjorie out of her social isolation and woos her with a surprising warmth and sincerity, eventually becoming her companion. Marjorie blossoms into happiness with Bernie for a short time, but soon grows possessive and controlling. When she bosses Bernie around one time too many, she meets her demise suddenly and with violence. Among those interviewed by the filmmakers, only Marjorie's stockbroker and Danny Buck, the local district attorney, are prepared to take Bernie to task for what he did.

(Comedy, Crime, Drama)

When eight middle-aged citizens are brought together for their former college friend's funeral, they are sent down a path, reflecting on the formerly celebrity status of their friend Alex, who chose to take his own life after feeling like he never "measured up." During the reflection, the friend's bittersweet reunion prompts a soul-searching journey for each, leading to the resolution that, in the end, all they needed was each other.

(Comedy, Drama)

Big Fish is the story of a big man in a small town whose fate has destined him to leave a legacy of amazing feats and adventure to pass onto his son. But Ed Bloom's stories seem all too fabricated for his son Will, and as he outgrows their novelty, so too does he outgrow his relationship with his father. It isn't until Ed Bloom is diagnosed with cancer that Will forces himself to return to his childhood home in hopes of mending his relationships and uncovering the truth behind the question, "Who is Edward Bloom?"

(Adventure, Drama, Fantasy)

After unemployed Jeffrey Lebowski, aka 'The Dude', is mistaken for 'The Big Lebowski', aka 'The Millionaire', he becomes unwillingly involved in a hullabaloo mystery of mischief and mayhem with red herrings and missing cash appearing all over Los Angeles. Meanwhile his overtly angry sidekick Walter complicates matters with his Vietnam Vet. The Dude does his best to solve the mystery behind The Big Lebowski's missing million dollars and trophy wife.

(Comedy, Crime)

The wealthy and dying General Sternwood hires private-eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) to keep an eye on his youngest daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers), whose propensity to associate with the wrong people poses a threat to herself and the respectable Sternwood family. Along the way Marlow meets and falls for Carmen's older sister, Vivien (Lauren Bacall). Vivien does not reciprocate his feelings. Soon murder follows murder and mystery follows mystery. Along the way, sexual tension builds between Marlowe and Vivien. Classic hard-boiled film noir.

(Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery)

On October 3, 1993, nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. Far from being a surgically-precise operation, the mission led to a disastrous and drawn-out firefight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen, and the destruction of two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters. BLACK HAWK DOWN depicts the heroic efforts of the Rangers to get to the downed helicopters, save the crash survivors, and themselves.

(Drama, History, Thriller)

Directed by Carroll Ballard, this 1979 adaptation of the classic children's book by Walter Farley tells the story of a young boy named Alec (Kelly Reno) who is befriended by a magnificent black horse after being shipwrecked on a deserted island. After Alec and the horse are rescued, Alec receives a hero's welcome and the story shifts to the racetrack, where Alec and the black stallion are soon competing for a storybook finish in a race against two famous competing horses.

(Adventure, Family, Sport)

Nina (Natalie Portman) is an emotionally fragile ballerina in a New York City ballet company. She lives with her obsessive ex-ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who exerts a stifling control over her. When the company's manipulative artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) wants to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for their season-opening production of Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis). Swan Lake's narrative requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan — representing innocence and grace — and the Black Swan — who embodies guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly, but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. When the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a strange and competitive friendship, Nina begins to slip into psychosis.

(Drama, Thriller)

THE BLIND SIDE is based on the true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, who took in a homeless teenage African-American, Michael "Big Mike" Oher, who had no idea who his father was and whose mother was a drug addict. In addition to providing him with a loving home, the Tuohys — particularly Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) — gave Mike a second chance in life, and encouraged him to develop his interest in football. The Tuohys hired a tutor and Mike improved his grades to the point where he qualified for an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship. THE BLIND SIDE is a striking tribute to that most fundamental of Christian motivations: Love thy neighbor. Michael Oher became a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft.

(Biography, Drama, Sport)

"Blood Simple" is a postmodern drama/thriller set in contemporary Texas. When a man discovers his wife is cheating on him with one of his employees, he hires a Texan private eye to off them both for a cash payment of $10,000. But in Texas, you always look out for Number One, and where murder and money are involved, things are bound to get complicated.

(Crime, Thriller)

BODY HEAT is set in a small Floridian town, where defense attorney Ned Racine has a racy and dangerous affair with one Matty Walker in the midst of a summer heat wave. As things go from hot to ultra-steamy, the lovers plan to off Matty's husband. What happens afterwards is a chaotic and deadly web of sex, lies, money, and deceit, where our compromised protagonist falls victim to a lovely face and her smoky voiced lies.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

Arthur Penn directed young rising stars Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in this stylish and memorable retelling of the exploits of infamous depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Standard-setting for violence and sexuality in its day, Bonnie and Clyde was criticized for its glamorization of crime, but beneath its flash and atmospherics the viewer will find solid acting and compelling story-telling.

(Biography, Crime, Drama)

A rousing historical epic about Scottish independence from the ruthless British King Edward "The Longshanks" who, in attempting to take the Scottish crown for himself, rapes and pillages many a Scottish town. When the young William Wallace sees his entire family killed off by the English, he is left under the care of his uncle. Raised to be a humble, hard working, albeit cultured man, Wallace returns to his hometown of Elderslie, Scotland years later a grown man. Marrying his childhood sweetheart, upon her wrongful death, Wallace sets out on a bloody quest for vengeance. Along the way, he attracts and inspires bands of beleaguered Scots. Together, Wallace and his Scotsmen set out fighting against England for their freedom. Political complications involving the beautiful Queen of France, an allegedly homosexual heir to the English throne, and the Welsh sects of the British Isles ensue in this classic, historic epic based on the legend/history of one man who dared to inspire a country to believe that, above all, there is no greater gift than that of freedom.

(Biography, Drama, History)

Blake Edwards directed this luminous adaptation of Truman Capote's novel, in which fortune hunter Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) finds herself romantically drawn to a new resident in her apartment building, aspiring writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard), the recipient of a wealthy woman's (Patricia Neal) patronage. Just as love begins to blossom between Paul and Holly, Doc Golightly (Buddy Ebsen) makes his appearance, and Holly's troubled past comes to light. The film won Oscars for best song ("Moon River") and best original score (by Henry Mancini).

(Comedy, Drama, Romance)

British POWs during World War II are ordered by the Japanese to build a bridge for the Burma-Siam railway. The POWs want to sabotage the bridge but Colonel Nicholson (Guiness) convinces them to build it as a symbol of British spirit and dignity. The prisoners admire Nicholson initially when he suffers torture rather than change his views. But as time goes on Nicholson is gradually revealed as deluded and obsessive — the bridge is a monument to himself rather than Great Britain.

(Adventure, Drama, War)

The lives of legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) are retold in this wildly popular western helmed by director George Roy Hill. Redford and Newman are at their charismatic best as they go from heist to heist, pursued by an implacable posse to the edge of a canyon and then to escape and dreams of an easier life in Bolivia, only to meet their glorious end in volleys of Spanish gunfire.

(Biography, Crime, Western)

A compelling sea-faring adventure and courtroom procedural, The Caine Mutiny tells the story of the troubled — and hated — Captain Queeg, whose conduct at the helm of the U.S.S. Caine drives his men to the edge of mutiny and lands him in court-martial proceedings. Humphrey Bogart is excellent as the tormented Queeg, as is Van Johnson as first officer Maryk, who is drawn into the breach when the Caine is in danger of sinking and a fatally compromised Queeg is unable to act at a crucial moment.

(Drama, War)

Martin Scorsese's remake of the classic thriller simultaneously pays homage to its antecedent while innovatively bringing new life to an old and unique masterpiece. CAPE FEAR is an archetypal thriller that chronicles the dysfunctional tribulations of the Bowden family and the many trials they must undergo once the relentlessly vengeful ex-con Max Cady decides to reside in Cape Fear and keep the Bowdens in close company, wanted or no.

(Crime, Thriller)

This biographical drama captures a "story behind the story". CAPOTE tells of how one event was destined to change the professional and personal life of novelist Truman Capote after the 1959 Holcomb, Kansas murders of the Clutter Family by Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith. Deciding to adapt material from the event for his next novel, CAPOTE captures Truman's controversial lifestyle and his compelling persona as he attempts to convey the notorious Holcomb tragedy via his subversive literary masterpiece "In Cold Blood". In this deeply introspective film, concepts of subjectivity and identity are explored in candid moments between murderer and author that would lead to a breakthrough in the development of the so-called "non-fiction" novel.

(Biography, Crime, Drama)

Humphrey Bogart, in World War 2 Morocco, in the role that made him a romantic idol.

In this beloved classic directed by Michael Curtiz, American expatriate Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) plays world-weary host to gamblers, thieves and other habitués at "Rick's Café Américain" nightclub in Morocco during World War II... He thinks he's seen it all — but he never thought the woman who broke his heart, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) would walk through his door again. She hopes Rick can help her and her fugitive husband (Paul Henreid) elude the Nazis and escape to America. Casablanca is chock-a-block with memorable movie quotes, including: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."; "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"; "Round up the usual suspects."; "We'll always have Paris."; and "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

(Drama, Film-Noir, Romance)

Feuding members of a greedy and self-destructive Southern family scramble to ingratiate themselves with rich, dying patriarch Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt (Burl Ives) in this Oscar-nominated film of Tennessee Williams's blistering stage drama, directed by Richard Brooks. Paul Newman stars as the sullen and alcoholic ex-football star Brick Pollitt, whose self-pity and drunken anger threaten not just his inheritance, but also his marriage to the provocative Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor).

(Drama, Romance)

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN documents the many adventures of wily con artist Frank William Abagnale Jr., who became one of America's most prolific criminals after cashing millions of dollars in fraudulent checks world wide. The film documents his daredevil adventures and depicts the loneliness of a seventeen year old boy running for his life while looking for a little love and money along the way.

(Biography, Crime, Drama)

Engaged by a mysterious femme fatale (Dunaway) to spy on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Chief Engineer Hollis Mulwray, private eye J.J. Gittes (Nicholson) uncovers an intricate power struggle and more skullduggery than he bargained for in this acclaimed noir thriller directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne. When Mulwray ends up dead and Gittes's nose is slashed by shadowy henchmen, the mystery deepens into conspiracy and psychodrama, leading to an emotionally wrenching climax.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

During the Great Depression, Irish boxer James Braddock would rise to the occasion and fight for his family, for food, and for the hope of a nation in need of a little inspiration. CINDERELLA MAN is the tale of the true underdog emerging at last, only after years of trial and heartache.

(Biography, Drama, Sport)

The great Orson Welles transformed cinema at the tender age of 26 with this brazen and brilliant account of fictional newspaper titan Charles Foster Kane (essentially a thinly-disguised biography of William Randolph Hearst). Welles's artful and technically ingenious film follows Kane's rise from poverty to the very pinnacle of achievement and influence in American society and business — making Welles a legend in the process while at the same time earning him powerful enemies in Hollywood.

Orson Welles' first movie, made at the ripe old age of 26, transformed the art of movie-making. A thinly-veiled biography of publishing titan William Randolph Hearst, Citizen Kane insured its audacious young creator fame and renown. But Welles paid a heavy price, as Hearst had many powerful and influential friends in Hollywood. But the last word belongs to Welles, whose movie is now universally regarded as among the best ever made.

In his first effort, actor, co-writer and director Orson Welles made this incredible drama, which many film critics and fans consider the best American film ever. Welles received a nomination for Best Directing.

(Drama, Mystery)

Three impoverished, amateur thieves known as the "Tender Trio" — Shaggy, Clipper, and Goose — rob and loot business owners; Goose has a brother named Rocket. The thieves split part of their loot with the citizens of the City, in exchange for their protection. The trio are idolized by several younger boys, including one, Li'l Dice, who convinces them to rob a motel. The gang agrees, resolving not to kill anyone. They have Li'l Dice serve as their lookout, giving him a gun and telling him to fire a warning shot if the police arrive, but a dissatisfied Li'l Dice fires a warning shot in the middle of the robbery, then guns down the motel occupants once the gang have left. The massacre attracts the attention of the police, and the trio splits up: Clipper joins the church, Shaggy is shot by the police, and Goose is shot by Li'l Dice after taking his money.

(Crime, Drama)

CLEOPATRA is a ground-breaking, grand scale cinematic work that retells the classic story of one of the world's most notorious female rulers — Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile — and her pivotal impact on Roman history through her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. The film opens with the Roman and Egyptian civil wars and concludes with the storied tragedies of all protagonists involved.

(Biography, Drama, History)

If it's love, why do you walk away? In a psychologically mind-bending, thought provoking film, CLOSER brings to life the details and nuances of four characters and their intricately woven lives, connected by a string of intimate inquiries and affairs. CLOSER unveils the truth behind infidelity, abandonment, loneliness, and the quest for real love.

(Drama, Romance)

Winner of an Oscar and 13 other awards from 49 nominations, COLD MOUNTAIN is a poignant depiction of the harsh lessons of the Civil War and its path of devastation wrought on all of 'American soil'. Told from the perspective of the confederate soldier Inman, and his love, Ada Monroe, COLD MOUNTAIN piercingly depicts the trials of small town life without the security of men who have gone off to war to face deadly trials of their own.

(Drama, History, Romance)

THE COLOR PURPLE is a poignant portrait of a young African American woman's struggles through life at the dawn of the twentieth century. Emancipated by law, Celie discovers that oppression comes in all forms, even at the hands of the men of her own people. A lifetime of oppression and abuse provoke Celie to harden into a determined woman, ready to free herself from the chains of a bad marriage and start a new life, all while holding her head high.

(Drama)

THE CONSTANT GARDENER tells of one widower's quest to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy surrounding his wife's murder and its hidden relations to the drug/medicine and AIDS epidemic in Nairobi, Africa. As his research continues to reveal dangerous clues, it appears that Justin Quayle will have to risk all if it means avenging his wife's untimely death.

(Drama, Mystery, Romance)

CRASH is a unique mosaic of vignettes that are tied together by a series of car accidents, hijacks, etc. The story begins in medias res (in the middle) then flashes back in time and works its way to the present and continues forward. Meanwhile several ethnic characters all come into contact by some means involving an automobile and have their racial prejudices bluntly exposed.

(Drama)

This twin-taled Woody Allen narrative features a New York doctor, Judah Rosenthal, trying to cover up a disintegrating long-term affair by murdering his mistress. At the same time, struggling documentary filmmaker Clifford Stern is asked by his detestable and successful studio executive brother-in-law, Lester, to make a celebratory documentary of Lester's life.

(Comedy, Drama)

David Fincher's THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is an adaptation of an obscure short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald turned into a rich and sprawling cinematic tale. What makes Benjamin Button's case so incredibly curious is that when he is born in New Orleans just after World War I, he's already in his eighties, and proceeds to live his life aging in reverse. The film follows Button's exquisitely strange life into the 21st century as he experiences joy and sadness, loves lost and found, and the meaning of spiritual connection and timelessness in the face of a baffling inversion of the laws of nature.

(Drama, Fantasy, Romance)

Through happenstance, Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) leads his Union troop to victory in the waning days of the Civil War. Requesting a position on the Western frontier, Dunbar finds his new post deserted, save for a wolf he names "Tow-socks," and a local Indian tribe. Upon befriending the Indians, Dunbar discovers a white woman living among them. In time, Dunbar sheds his westernized ways and begins to live among the Indians as one of their own. With the Western expansion taking over the vanishing frontier, Dunbar is forced to choose between his old and new ways of life.

(Adventure, Drama, Western)

When the volcano above Dante's Peak begins rumbling, volcanologist Harry Dalton and local city mayor Rachel Wando try to convince local city members and scientists that Dante's Peak is, indeed, dangerous and potentially deadly. But when economic interests interfere and obstruct, the safety of the people of Dante's Peak is put in peril, with only Dalton and Wando prepared to help.

(Action, Adventure, Thriller)

When newly wed heiress Linnet Ridgeway is murdered aboard a luxury Nile steamer, Hercule Poirot, who is on board, begins to investigate and tries to figure out who among the many suspects actually did the deed and why.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

In South Boston, the state police are waging war on Irish American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello. While Billy soon gains Costello's confidence, his efforts are mirrored by Colin Sullivan, a young hardened criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate in the Special Investigation Unit. Over time the men grow deeply enmeshed in their double lives as they gather intelligence about the confidential plans and counter-plans of the operations they've penetrated. Eventually both the mob and the police realize they've been fatally compromised by moles, and Billy and Colin risk exposure to the enemy — and each must race to reveal the identity of the other in time to save themselves.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

DIAL M FOR MURDER is a classic Hitchcock film that consistently develops a psychological suspense from beginning to end. The film follows ill-fated antagonist Tony Wendice and his malevolent attempts to murder his wife after he discovers her elicit long distance affair.

(Crime, Thriller)

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal treatment at the hands of his former owners leads to an unexpected opportunity for deliverance via German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to them. Honing his tracking talents, Django stays focused on finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz's search finally leads them to the notorious Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his plantation, "Candyland". Casing it under false pretenses, Django and Schultz attract the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave.

(Drama, Western)

Set during the historic Russian Bolshevik Revolution, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO follows the trials and tribulations of its eponymous lead character as he marries and raises a family, only to have his life tragically disrupted by WW I and then the Russian Revolution. As Dr. Zhivago's freedom and life are taken away, struggles to survive and live an honorable and fulfilling life.

(Drama, Romance, War)

Love-struck insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) lives to regret the "perfect" murder plot he's cooked up with femme fatale client Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who's counting on Neff's inside knowledge to cover her tracks as she stages her husband's "accidental" death to score a big payout on her life insurance policy. The only thing standing between the guilty pair and big money is canny claims investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) — and he smells a rat.

(Crime, Drama, Film-Noir)

A young Jewish American man endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village that was ultimately razed by the Nazis, with the help of a local who speaks weirdly funny broken English.

(Comedy, Drama)

Movie actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) suspects an evil spirit has possessed Regan, her young daughter (Linda Blair) in this horror classic. After medication, brain scans, and therapy fail to reveal the cause of Regan's frightening symptoms, Chris calls in a priest (Jason Miller) in a desperate bid to banish the demon. Author William Peter Blatty won an Academy Award for his big-screen adaptation of his own novel; the film also won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Sound. A sensation in 1972, the film packs a terrific punch even today, thanks to excellent acting, story, and direction by William Friedkin.

(Drama, Horror)

Standing on the brink of financial ruin, the hapless Jerry Lundegaard concocts a plan to have his wife kidnapped and ransomed — with the expectation that her wealthy father will fork over the cash that Jerry intends to split between himself and his accomplices. However, Jerry's inability to hire the "right" guys for the job leads to chaos as two North Dakota hitmen end up ruining Jerry's already troubled life.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

As he lives quietly in a sleepy Iowa farming town, Ray Kinsella is minding his own business when his corn field starts to whisper to him: "If you build it, he will come." Interpreting the message as a cue to build a baseball diamond, Ray sets to work. Upon the field's completion, the ghosts of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and seven other Chicago White Sox players from the 1919 World Series appear. Seeking help from a reclusive author, Kinsella tries to understand the mysterious messages as they relate to what he has so quixotically built.

(Drama, Family, Fantasy)

FIGHT CLUB tells of one man's quest for self-enlightenment, which is to be found in another man who acts as his alter ego; the nefarious Tyler Durden. They/he are anarchists, and they scheme to bring people closer to their nihilistic version of ultimate truth by abandoning society's consumer-driven rituals. Beginning with the underground Fight Club, Tyler and the Narrator look for ways to turn their fighters into an army devoted to Project Mayhem, which is intended to bring about the demise of corporate America.

(Drama)

Mitch is a promising young lawyer who's fresh out of law school and recently hired by the prestigious company known simply as "The Firm." Offered a salary he can't refuse, Mitch and his wife quickly relocate to Memphis, where he begins work without once suspecting "The Firm's" ulterior motives. After two associates are murdered, however, The FBI get involved, contacting Mitch and compromising his safety by asking him to help take down The Firm. Turning back is not an option, and Mitch does his best to play both sides and stay alive while the FBI and The Firm go head to head.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

Whip Whitaker is a commuter airline pilot. On a flight from Orlando to Atlanta something goes wrong and the plane starts to fly erratically, with the situation progressing from bad to horrific in a frighteningly short time. Whip saves the plane and nearly all on board with a stunning demonstration of nerviness, courage, and piloting skill — but when he wakes up in the hospital afterward, his friend from the airline union introduces him to a lawyer who informs him there's a chance he could face criminal charges because his blood test reveals he was intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine. He denies the charge, but an FAA investigation has already started, at the end of which stands a public hearing at which Whitaker will be interrogated. As events unfold, the depth of his chemical addictions becomes clear to all except himself.

(Drama, Thriller)

When a British spy ship is sunk off the coast of Albania, the world's military powers covetously seek an alleged treasure onboard: an ATAC system known to control the Polaris nuclear submarine fleet. Of course the British send their top agent, Bond, in to investigate. Once the Russians learn of the sunken treasure, it's a deadly race to the finish line, no matter the cost.

(Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi)

Forrest Gump is quite possibly the most adorable mentally handicapped man America has been privileged to know. Beginning with a bus stop and a feather, this magical movie takes us through Forrest's life story, which coincidentally and humorously intersects with many of America's hallmark historic and cultural moments. As we weave our way through protest movements, Presidential ceremonies, Elvis, 'nam, and more, we follow Gump's trials and tribulations en route to his winning the heart of his one true love, Jenny.

(Drama, Romance)

Set in 1862 Indiana, a Quaker family faces small and large challenges and temptations from the outside world, which conflict with their traditional Quaker life style and values. Besides struggling with forbidden fruit such as organs, dancing, wrestling, horse racing, and gambling; the Civil War is about to drop into their front yard, when Confederate soldiers threaten to ride through the farmland country, looting and burning.

(Drama, War, Western)

This riveting screen adaptation of James Jones's novel about Army life in Hawaii in the idyllic days leading up to Dec. 7, 1941, is best remembered for one of the most memorable love scenes in cinema history: an impassioned Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling around in the sand and foam of Halona Cove Beach. All told, the film — directed by Fred Zinnemann — won eight Oscars, including awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed) and Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra).

(Drama, Romance, War)

FROST/NIXON is a fascinating look at the struggle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to rebuild, and David Frost, a jet-setting TV personality with a name to make. For three years after he resigned from office, Nixon was a virtual recluse. But in the summer of 1977, he agreed to sit for a wide-ranging interview with Frost to confront questions of his time in office and his culpability in the Watergate scandal that destroyed his presidency. But if he thought he'd picked a pushover in David Frost, he was mistaken. Frost's team too harbored doubts about their boss's ability to make the interview more than a promotional opportunity for Richard Nixon, then in the early stages of career rehabilitation. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits and wills had only just begun.

(Genre)

When he's mistakenly convicted for the murder of his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble is sent to prison. Along the way, however, he escapes, and in his fugitive state, resolves to uncover the truth behind the mystery of his wife's murder. In the meantime, U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard is in hot pursuit, shadowing his every move and familial contact. Can Kimble unravel the mystery before he is caught by Gerard and the truth remain forever buried?

(Action, Adventure, Crime)

GARDEN STATE tells of one man's personal quest back to his childhood roots in Newark, New Jersey after the death of his mother. During his four day trip he will confront the many skeletons in his closet, beginning with his strained father-son relationship and his incessant drug-induced semi-comatose state. When the unlikely presence of a euphoric Sam walks into his life it seems for the first time Andrew Largeman may actually learn to "feel" his way through life's adventures, both good and bad.

(Comedy, Drama, Romance)

Oscar-winner George Stevens directed this extravagant epic chronicling the saga of Texas cattleman Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson), who travels to Maryland in the early 1920s, falls in love with and marries the aristocratic socialite Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor) and brings her back to his ranch. launching a family saga that spans the generations. James Dean (in his last film role) co-stars as the sullen, arriviste Jett Rink, the wellspring of Bick's many worries.

(Drama, Romance)

Adapted from Tracy Chevalier's novel, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING tells the story of how the famous portrait by Johannes Vermeer came into being. When a humble yet beautiful maid, Griet, goes to work for the Vermeer family in Delft, Holland, in 1665, Vermeer begins to obsess over his new subject. As his muse, she would inspire one of the most renowned paintings of time, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" — but at a very steep price.

(Action, Drama)

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS follows in the footsteps of its politically controversial antecedents, "Salesman", and "Death of a Salesman", as a tale that exposes and analyzes the precarious position of a commission-driven salesman. As the film quickly reveals, four desperate men will do almost anything to get their hands on the latest promising 'leads', the Glengarry Leads, that will almost certainly result in closed deals and ample commissions for all. But with a hard-ass hotshot novice representative coming down on the salesmen's superior, the only thing the inept four are left with are a bunch of crap opportunities while the tempting but elusive Glengarry are destined to remain forever out of reach. Over the course of one dark and stormy night each man will contemplate his own destiny and calculate the price tag necessary to completely abandon their already questionable moral rationalizations.

(Drama)

When mafia crime family patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) miraculously survives an assassination attempt, his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to avenge the would-be assassins, launching a wave of bloody reprisals. Director Francis Ford Coppola brings Mario Puzo's opus dazzlingly to life in this Oscar-winning saga that brought Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Writing — as well as penultimate placement on several Best-All-Time Movie lists, surpassed only by Citizen Kane.

#3 on the AFI Top 100; and 1972's Best Picture. Ten Oscar nominations, three wins (Best Picture, Best Actor, and Adapted Screenplay).

Director Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" is a sweeping, yet intimate look at the American Mafia. Some have called it the "Gone With The Wind" of mobster pictures. Coppola received a nomination for Best Directing.

(Crime, Drama)

THE GODFATHER PART II follows the Corleone family roots back to Sicily, when the foundations of its future empire were first laid by young Don Vito Corleone (De Niro) and how Michael Corleone (Pacino) strives, in the present day, to extend the family's influence into Nevada and attempts to make the Corleone organization legitimate.

(Crime, Drama)

Director Victor Fleming's 1939 epic telling of Margaret Mitchell's classic Civil War novel features Vivien Leigh as self-centered, willful Scarlett O'Hara — the indomitable Southern Belle who meets her match in the person of dashing rogue Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), even as she pines for unattainable Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). Mistress of the legendary Georgia cotton plantation Tara in 1861, Scarlett watches helplessly as her beloved home and life come to ruin along with the rest of the Confederacy at the hands of Sherman and the Union. She vows to build it back, bigger and better than before, even if it costs her the love of her life and all personal happiness.

(Drama, Romance, War)

The year is 1953. With Senator Joe McCarthy ranting all over TV about Communist threats, painting hundreds of innocent Americans with the pejorative term "Red", one man, Edward R. Murrow, and his fellow colleagues at CBS decide to take a stand against him.

(Drama)

Chief Inspector Renko, the best detective in the Moscow Militia, is handed a grisly triple homicide to solve, which greatly tests all his wits and abilities. He soon discovers that many people don't want the murders solved, because if they are, they may expose a complex conspiracy involving a select group of corrupt Moscow city official who will stop at nothing to keep their secret out of the public eye.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

Dustin Hoffman burst onto the cinematic scene with his memorable performance as a naíve college graduate seduced by a middle-aged neighbor (Anne Bancroft), though he ends up falling for her beautiful, young daughter (Katharine Ross) — with consequences both traumatic and comedic. Mike Nichols captured a Best Director Oscar for this quintessential '60s tale, graced with a hugely appealing Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack featuring their iconic pop classic "Mrs. Robinson."

(Comedy, Drama, Romance)

Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a widower who holds onto his prejudices while the Michigan neighborhood he's lived in for decades changes all around him. Grumpy, hard-bitten, and unhappy, he's an old man who can't get along with either his adult children or his neighbors. About the only thing that seems to give him pleasure anymore is his prize possession: a mint-condition 1972 Gran Torino that he keeps in his garage. When his neighbor Thao (Bee Vang), a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal the car, Kowalski catches him in the act and then sets out to reform him. Drawn unwillingly into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that plague their neighborhood.

(Drama)

Based on actual historical events and crackling with tension, this ambitious tale produced and directed by John Sturges tells the story of an audacious plan by Allied POWs to pull off a massive escape from a supposedly escape-proof German prison camp. The star-studded cast features Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen, whose climactic motorcycle chase scene offers proof of McQueen's enduring status as one of Hollywood's greatest action-adventure stars.

(Adventure, Drama, History)

In a 1930s era prison, death row guards and inmates are dramatically changed as a result of their contact with a giant of a man with a gift for healing, who embodies a profound sense of spirit and humanity. When it is made clear to his guards that he has been wrongly convicted of murder, they are faced with a great moral dilemma.

(Crime, Drama, Fantasy)

THE GRIFTERS is a modern American noir classic that masterfully brings nihilistic author Jim Thompson's eponymous novel to the silver screen with panache. THE GRIFTERS exploits the seedy and sardonic lifestyles of three cons who are slowly headed towards into disastrous decline. Abandoning all morality for the sake of a few bucks and a cheap thrill, Roy Dillon takes after griftin' mama Lilly Dillon. Enter sexy Myra Langtry, a long con roper who enjoys taking Roy for a ride. From one con to the next the film follows two women's attempts to survive at all odds while one bitter and distrusting man is desperately caught in the middle.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER tells the story of an interracial relationship between an African American doctor, John Wayde Prentice, and the bubbly white woman he loves, Joanna Drayton. As the two head to San Francisco where Dr. Prentice will request Joanna's hand in marriage upon the approval of her father, the anxious couple stand by; the guest list for dinner growing as everyone anxiously awaits the outcome of Matt Drayton's deliberations.

(Comedy, Drama)

One of the most critically acclaimed haunted house films ever made, Robert Wise's The Haunting tells the dark tale of a young woman of questionable sanity (Julie Harris) who accepts a ghost researcher's offer to stay in a haunted house with a tragic past. She's joined by the researcher himself (Richard Johnson, as Dr. John Markway), ESP expert Theodora (Claire Bloom), and the likely heir to the estate, the skeptical Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn). As they slowly begin to discover, the house is indeed alive with frightening supernatural phenomena. With a seemingly unstoppable supernatural force lurking in every room and shadow, the film's sense of menace builds steadily and believably, eventually engulfing all of the characters.

(Drama, Horror)

The murderous and vengeful Miller Gang is on the noon train to Hadleyville in the Territory of New Mexico, where retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) risks certain death when he decides to confront them and protect the town in this western classic. Alas, Hadleyville's residents are self-righteous cowards, unwilling to defend themselves or help the Marshall. Even his new bride (Grace Kelly) isn't cooperating, and as the clock ticks ever closer to noon the odds against Kane grow ever longer. In the climactic shootout he of course saves the town, and the closing shot by Director Fred Zinnemann, in which the citizens of Hadleyville flood into the street once the danger has passed, remains as piercing a depiction of craven hypocrisy as has ever been filmed.

(Drama, Thriller, Western)

HOSTEL is a graphic yet haunting exploration of the concept of adrenaline junkies seeking morbid ways to pay for thrilling activities. As three young men venture into the secluded terrain of Eastern Europe's Slovakia, one by one each will learn just how far someone will go to seek the thrill of a lifetime at a deadly price.

(Horror)

Based on a true story, HOTEL RWANDA tells of the Rwandan genocide from the mid '90s. Despite the massive death toll — over one million people slaughtered in just three months — the nightmares in Rwanda received little attention from the world's media. One courageous man, hotelier Paul Rusesabagina, gave shelter to defenseless Tutsis at great risk to himself in his self-managed hotel. This is a spell-binding tale of courage and humanity.

(Drama, History, War)

THE HOURS is a contemporary reworking of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" and its personal effect on its tragic author, an equally tragic fan two decades later, and a woman nearly half a century later whose uncanny likeness to the protagonist of the novel is the link that connects all three women separated by several decades.

(Drama)

A blockbuster adaptation of Tom Clancy's best selling novel, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER tells the story of the defection of Captain Marko Ramius, who skippers the Soviet Union's newest nuclear sub. Meanwhile, CIA agent Jack Ryan is assigned to hunt down the sub after its disappearance. An action-packed thriller.

(Action, Adventure, Thriller)

Based on the wartime experiences of journalist Mark Boal, director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War-set action thriller THE HURT LOCKER depicts the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers. As an elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team works the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from bombs and snipers. While the Army works to make Baghdad a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, the EOD crew is always just one mistake away from violent death. As they take on the most dangerous work of the war, it's only a matter of time before one or more of them gets sent to "the hurt locker."

(Drama, History, Thriller)

Sidney Poitier stars as Virgil Tibbs, a black detective from Philadelphia visiting his mother in Sparta, Mississippi, who's reluctantly drawn into the fallout from the mysterious death of a wealthy businessman, first as a suspect and then as an investigator working with redneck sheriff Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger). Director Norman Jewison's richly atmospheric study of racism won five Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Actor for Steiger) and still resonates today.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

When Jackie Brown, a middle-aged flight attendant, is caught red-handed by police carrying illicit money for a tough arms dealer, she decides to go for the gold and comes up with a risky (and intricate) scheme to solve all her problems with the help of Max Cherry, her bail bondsman.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

The distilled essence of the summer blockbuster, JAWS vaulted wunderkind director Steven Spielberg into the Hollywood big leagues overnight. Based on Peter Benchley's bestseller about a man-eating great white shark that menaces the town folk of mythical Amity Island, Jaws takes us along for the ride as water-phobic police chief Brody (Roy Scheider), oceanographer Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and grizzled seaman Quint (Robert Shaw) seek their deadly quarry on the high seas aboard the doomed fishing boat Orca.

(Adventure, Drama, Thriller)

THE KING'S SPEECH tells the story of King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother Edward abdicates the throne in 1936, George ('Bertie') reluctantly takes his place. Afflicted with a terrible stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Using a set of unconventional techniques, Logue helps Bertie master his condition, which enables Bertie to rise to the occasion in a national address and lead England in a crucial time as storm clouds of war gather over Europe.

(Biography, Drama)

Prot, a being who looks like a man, claiming to travel on a beam of light from a planet called K-PAX, is taken to New York's Manhattan Psychiatric Institute for observation, evaluation and treatment. Dr. Powell finds that he must do some detective work to find out who this man really is, with the audience along for the ride. Is he a genuine "K-Paxian"? Or a man living in a delusional world?

(Drama, Sci-Fi)

Based on the novel by James Ellroy, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL is set in 1950s Los Angeles. The thriller centers around police corruption and "Tinseltown taint." When a murderous shooting spree breaks out in an all-night diner, provoking mob boss Mickey Cohen's imprisonment, three L.A.P.D. officers set about uncovering the truth, using whatever means necessary. As the crime is unraveled, many twists and turns expose the seedier side of Hollywood in this classic tribute to film noir.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

One year after his wife, Sheila Green, is killed by a hit and run driver, her husband, Clinton Green invites six of the couples' Hollywood friends to play a game on his yacht. Clinton plays this "game" for his personal amusement at the expense of and for the enjoyment of his guests. Each guest is given a made-up vice on a play card, and the others are challenged by Clinton to figure out what the secret is and who was given the card. After the first night of the game the practical joke and the uncomfortable feelings it causes turn the game upside down into a real murder mystery. The race is on to figure out who the killer is and the motives behind this very real crime.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

With the horrors of the Civil War behind him, Captain Nathan Algren spends his days comforting his wounds with the bottle. Despite his pathetic status Japan strikes a deal that lands Algren in Japan with the intent to train the "Emperor's troops" so they can put an end to the Samurai legacy. But when Algren is captured by the Samurai after a failed attack, he finds himself gaining a deep respect for the culture he was prepared to destroy after he is mentored by Sensei Omura. With the final battle between Samurai and Emperor's troops on the horizon, Algren is prepared to fight alongside Omura and his men in an attempt to save the Emperor from his crooked associates.

(Action, Drama, History)

The amazing story of T.E. Lawrence's heroic struggle to unify fractious Arab tribes against invading Turks in World War I is the subject of Director David Lean's timeless epic. Lavishly filmed and impeccably acted, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA illuminates the clash of ideals — within both a nation and a man — that changed the tide of war and the course of history in the Middle East. Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif co-star. Winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.

(Adventure, Biography, Drama)

In Canada, a writer visits the Indian storyteller Pi Patel and asks him about his remarkable life story in LIFE OF PI. Pi reminisces about his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner, explains that the municipality is no longer supporting the zoo and they must move to Canada, where the animals the family owns can be sold. They board a Japanese cargo ship. During the voyage the ship is caught in a storm and sinks, drowning Pi's family and most of the animals onboard. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Adrift in the Pacific Ocean, Pi must use all of his strength and ingenuity to survive.

(Adventure, Drama, Fantasy)

A simple yet well-told, uplifting tale of how a group of Catholic nuns, led by a formidable Mother Superior, through their prayers, faith in God and determined perseverance convince an unemployed construction worker and ultimately the whole community to build a much-needed chapel on the non's farmland, in the middle of an Arizona dessert.

(Drama)

As the American Civil War grinds toward its tortured close in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln works to achieve passage of the 13th Amendment, banning slavery in the United States. But however clear a moral imperative the amendment might be, the political road to reach it is winding and treacherous. Peace may come at any time, but if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states, in league with some in the north, may stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, therefore, get enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress to pass the 13th Amendment before peace arrives. Yet the President is torn, because an early peace would save many thousands of lives in a weary and war-torn nation. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln has his own crisis of conscience — end slavery or end the war.

(Biography, Drama, History)

In this stylish and brilliantly-written and acted drama, England's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his dysfunctional family gather at his chateau, ostensibly to celebrate Christmas but actually to decide who will inherit Henry's throne. What follows is a no-holds-barred battle of wills that tears the family's already frayed bonds of love and trust. Henry favors his youngest son John (Nigel Terry), but his indomitable spouse, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), believes the crown should go to eldest son Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins, in a dazzling film debut).

(Drama, History)

The product of four directors (including an uncredited John Wayne) and an all-star ensemble cast, this Oscar-winning war epic, produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, tells the story of the allied invasion of France on D-Day. Filmed on the beaches of Normandy, The Longest Day tells the story from both Allied and Axis points of view. The huge cast, led by John Wayne, Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum and Henry Fonda, is an embarrassment of riches, and took home Academy Awards for Cinematography and Special Effects.

(Action, Drama, History)

This is the tale of Yuri Orlov, an apolitical gunrunner who provides arms through the grey market to third-world warring countries in exchange for a lucrative lifestyle. With the morally compromised CIA agent Jack Valentine hot on his trail it seems only a matter of time before Orlov's ethical waywardness threatens to undermine his world.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

LOST IN TRANSLATION is the poignant drama/comedy that tells of the uncanny friendship of aged and jaded U.S. actor Bob Harris with the young and astute academic wife, Charlotte, of a rookie American photographer. As Harris heads to Tokyo to endorse a Japanese whiskey, he runs into the troubled Charlotte and together the two seek solace and company in each other in a country where nothing but friendship and a few good rounds of karaoke makes any sense.

(Drama)

An adaptation of Ronald Everett's novel, A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is a poignant elegy — an homage to the Deep South and its Romantic ideals. The film depicts the tragic life of Bobby Long, the myth that sustained his life thereafter, Lorraine, his protégé and sole confidant, Lawson Pines, and Lorraine's daughter, Purslane Will, who freed both men from the bonds of their illusions.

(Drama)

Director John Sturges helms this classic 1960 western that chronicles a small town's efforts to save itself from the depredations of a savage outlaw (Eli Wallach). When the town's citizens recruit seven American gunslingers headed by Yul Brynner (in his pre-robotic days) the stage is set for a guns-a-blazing showdown. Hollywood he-men Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn and James Coburn round out the take-no-prisoners cast.

(Action, Adventure, Western)

Is it two stories or one? Is it nine characters or two? MAGNOLIA is a film that intersects and exposes the lives of nine different people who are somehow interconnected as they live out their lives in individual yet parallel fashion. Its intensely unique vision and surprising conclusion only strengthen a storyline that slowly unwraps and folds in on itself over the span of three hours until, in the end, all the main characters find themselves suddenly on the same page.

(Drama)

Humphrey Bogart stars as famed private eye Sam Spade in this Oscar-nominated noir mystery (directed by John Huston, who also adapted the story from the famous novel by Dashiell Hammett) in which the femme fatale Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor) seeks his help in supposedly trying to locate her lost sister. In short order bodies and plot twists begin piling up, and Spade is drawn into a web of intrigue involving shadowy competitors in search of a fabulous jeweled falcon.

(Crime, Drama, Film-Noir)

A wave of kidnappings is sweeping through Mexico, feeding a rising sense of panic among its wealthier citizens, especially parents, who fear becoming its target. Enter John Creasy, a burned-out ex-CIA operative/assassin, who's given up on life. Creasy's friend, Rayburn, has brought him to Mexico City to be a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita Ramos, the daughter of an industrialist. Creasy accepts the work for lack of something better to do, but barely tolerates the precocious child, who peppers him with question about his life. But slowly his defenses drop, and he begins to feel emotionally connected to the world and to Pita. Then his new-found sense of purpose is shattered when she's kidnapped.

(Action, Crime, Drama)

MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD is based on two Napoleonic War-era adventure novels by author Patrick O'Brian. Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is a high-seas adventurer who has a strong friendship with ship surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), who is also a naturalist. After conquering much of Europe, Napoleon's forces have set their sights on Great Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, ply the Pacific to intercept any attacking ships from the French fleet. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to a tense and exciting chase through the far reaches of the sea.

(Action, Adventure, Drama)

A brain injury sustained while trying to save his wife has left Leonard Shelby with no short term memory. With the aid of notes, tattoos and a Polaroid camera, Leonard is on a mission to find and punish his wife's murderer.

(Mystery, Thriller)

THE MEXICAN is an uncanny comedy that develops delightful caricatures in its characters. After the klutzy Jerry is sent off to Mexico to recover a coveted gun for conman Margolese, his unstable, overly dramatic, ultra feminist girlfriend throws a hissy fit and takes off to Vegas. Along the way Sam is hijacked, twice at the same mall, and her trip to Vegas involves the company of gay hitman Winston, who eagerly waits for Jerry to return from Mexico with the pistol.

(Adventure, Comedy, Crime)

MILLION DOLLAR BABY is a timeless tragedy about a jaded trainer, Frankie Dunn, who finally gives in and trains a dogged woman, Maggie Fitzgerald, who's determined to make a name for herself in the sport of female boxing. With the longstanding support of fellow friend and former protege Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris, Dunn relentlessly works towards shaping the woman into formidable force — but all fairy tales must come to an end.

(Drama, Sport)

Based on a true story, MONEYBALL tells the story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the General Manager of the Oakland A's, who suddenly has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced into rebuilding his team on a tight budget, Beane must work smarter than the richer ball clubs. The ex-jock forms an unlikely alliance with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), and recruits bargain players considered flawed by other talent scouts, but who all have the ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's a revolution in baseball — one that calls into question all the old school traditions, as well as making Beane a target for those who condemn him as taking the heart and soul out of the game.

(Biography, Drama, Sport)

Based on the horrific life of the late female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, MONSTER chronicles the controversial romance and life and times of the Daytona Beach prostitute and her partner, the young and naïve Selby, up to Aileen's prosecution. Charlize Theron as Wuornos gives a memorable performance.

(Biography, Crime, Drama)

Meet Earl Brooks: he's a respected businessman and recent recipient of Portland's Man of the Year award. Oh, and one more thing: he's also a serial killer known to police as the Thumbprint Killer. He's been attending AA meetings and has managed to keep his addiction to murder under control for two years now. But his alter ego, Marshall (William Hurt), has re-surfaced and wants him to start killing again. When Mr. Brooks succumbs to temptation and kills a couple while they're having sex, he's seen and photographed by someone who has a death and murder fetish of his own. Meanwhile, the detective investigating the murder has problems of her own. She's going through a messy divorce, and a violent criminal who'd vowed revenge years before has escaped from prison and is after her.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

MUNICH is based on the events growing out of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist atrocity. After the entire Israeli Olympics team is taken hostage and murdered by Palestinian terrorists known as Black September, Israel puts together a group of counter-terrorists to avenge the slain athletes. The Israelis spend several months in Europe in search of "connected" members of Black September. As political complications arise, they do their best to elude detection and complete their mission before Black September and other political authorities foil their efforts.

(Drama, History, Thriller)

When the body of a young female staffer, Carla Town, is found in a White House washroom, D.C. Homicide Cop Harlan Regis is called in by Alvin Jordan, National Security Advisor, to put the pieces together and catch the elusive killer, despite the huge barriers put up by others.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

MYSTIC RIVER is a dramatic tale of the tragic reunion of three childhood friends, brought about after the daughter of one them is brutally murdered. Sean Penn plays Jimmy, a one-time convict who's gone straight and now runs a small grocery store. It is his daughter who's been found dead. The second of the friends, Sean Devine (played by Kevin Bacon), is a detective on the case. The third member of the trio, Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), has become the investigation's primary suspect.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

When news anchor Howard Beale's on-air breakdown causes a surge in the ratings of the hapless UBS network, cutthroat execs Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway waste no time exploiting the spectacle, trashing journalistic standards in the process. Beale's best friend and TV news old-guardsman Max Schumacher (William Holden) is also swept up in a satiric storm of escalating absurdities in author Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning opus, which eerily foretold the cultural open sewer television would become. One of the great movies of the 20th century, it gave us the now-iconic phrase "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Peter Finch won a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Beale.

(Drama)

Connery once more heats up the screen as Britain's favorite secret agent, 007, aka James Bond. This time around, when Ernst Blofeld arranges for Spectre agents to infiltrate a UK-based US Air Force Base to steal two Tomahawk cruise missiles, NATO is suddenly held ransom. Enter James Bond, who sets out to recapture the warheads, kill Blofeld, and once more, save the day.

(Action, Adventure, Romance)

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) walks into the aftermath of a drug deal gone violently wrong and finds a briefcase with two million dollars in it. Instead of reporting the discovery to police, Moss takes the money for himself — a fateful course of action that nets him more than his share of unwelcome attention: the Mexican drug gangs, on the one hand, and on the other one of the most fearsome killers in recent film history named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) — who racks up a formidable onscreen death count as he tracks down the missing cash. Meanwhile, laconic Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommie Lee Jones) oversees the investigation and tries to grapple with the sheer scope of the criminal tide sweeping in around him.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

What if everyone you knew suddenly thought you were a spy? Master storyteller Alfred Hitchcock starts with this provocative notion and weaves a tale of intrigue and mistaken identity with Cary Grant as the unlucky innocent ad executive, Eva Marie Saint as a passenger on a train he meets by chance, and lead bad-guy James Mason, convinced Grant is in possession of military secrets. Hitchcock's superbly-crafted tale has Grant harassed by the most famous crop duster plane in cinema and fighting memorably for his life on Mount Rushmore.

(Adventure, Mystery, Thriller)

Director Elia Kazan's enduring morality play features Marlon Brando as Hoboken longshoreman Terry Malloy, a washed-up boxer who suffers a crisis of conscience while working for corrupt union kingpin Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). When Friendly's thugs kill a fellow dockworker to keep him from testifying at a Crime Commission, Terry refuses to testify at first, but soon has second thoughts when the victim's sister (Eva Marie Saint) encourages him to take the stand. Based on a celebrated series of articles in the New York Sun, Waterfront won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

(Crime, Drama)

An extraordinary movie, ORDINARY PEOPLE tells the story of the troubled Jarrett family, still struggling to cope with the death of their eldest son. Robert Redford directed and won an Oscar for it; Mary Tyler Moore earned an Oscar nomination for her searing portrayal of a repressed mother, emotionally bereft after the loss of her favorite son. A very young Timothy Hutton is excellent as the younger son. Highly recommended.

(Drama)

Writer-director Stanley Kubrick's powerful anti-war opus casts Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax, commander of an exhausted regiment of French army soldiers stationed in the trenches on the western front during World War I. When French generals order Dax's men to launch a suicidal charge against a heavily-fortified German position, some of the men refuse. The attack, when finally mounted, is a disaster. When the army later tries three of the soldiers on charges of cowardice, Dax, a criminal defense lawyer in civilian life, becomes their defense attorney.

(Drama, War)

An American Revolutionary War tale, it tells the story of farmer Benjamin Martin, who reluctantly joins in the fight against the British in South Carolina after the war arrives in his front yard and threatens his family.

(Action, Drama, History)

In this action-packed sequel to Clancy's THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, Jack Ryan "accidentally" foils an assassination attempt on one of the Royal Family members while on vacation in England. Pulled back into the CIA, Ryan sets out to take down the bad guys â?? in this case an IRA faction targeting Ryan and his family.

(Action, Crime, Drama)

This grand World War II epic explores the tribulations and triumphs of one of America's greatest Army tank commanders, General George S. Patton, from his command assignments in Africa, in Italy, and to his command of the 3rd Army in Europe.

(Biography, Drama, War)

When two Supreme Court Justices are assassinated, a major investigation causes a national stir. Meanwhile, a law student discovers the truth behind the murders, and an eager journalist wants the story. As the two undertake their professional banter, things turn deadly when certain people suspect the law student knows more than she should.

(Crime, Drama, Film-Noir)

A sensational slaying becomes the vehicle for an ambitious attorney to make his career in PRIMAL FEAR, a legal thriller based on a novel by William Diehl. Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a defense lawyer who offers his services pro bono to Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a Kentucky teenager charged with the murder of a Chicago archbishop. A blood-covered Aaron was captured after a foot chase broadcast live on TV, making a gleeful Vail every reason to think that he can raise his profile by defending so obviously guilty a suspect. Assistant District Attorney Janet Venable (Laura Linney), Vail's ex-girlfriend, is assigned to prosecute. The case grows more complicated for Vail when a psychologist, Dr. Molly Arrington (Frances McDormand), finds in her examination of Stampler that he suffers from multiple personality disorder. Vail also uncovers evidence that the archbishop was part of a corrupt land deal and might have molested young parishioners.

(Crime, Drama, Mystery)

Thieving real estate secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) comes to one of the most memorable ends in cinematic history in director Alfred Hitchcock's acclaimed thriller. Fifty years after its release, Psycho is a permanent resident in the pantheon of Hollywood horror. Anthony Perkins was forever typecast as an eccentric oddball after his uncannily on-target performance as the homicidally-disturbed hotel manager Norman Bates, and untold numbers of people never felt safe in their showers again.

(Horror, Mystery, Thriller)

A hamburger-aficionado hit man (John Travolta), his meditative partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a gangster's squeeze (Uma Thurman) and a has-been boxer (Bruce Willis) are just some of the colorful characters on display in Quentin Tarantino's freewheeling and intensely quirky 1994 crime comedy that memorably throws traditional linear narrative out the window. Digressive and lurid, it's hard sometimes to see the points to the four story threads winding through it, but they're so richly textured and entertaining you end up not really caring. The journey is the reward.

(Crime, Drama)

QUILLS is a erotically quixotic film that tells of the mayhem one perverse genius provokes after his lusty paperbacks are smuggled out of a French insane asylum and mass published. Set in 1794 Paris, QUILLS is an erotic tale of love, lust, and denial that unfolds the many complicated relationships of all involved in the tragic life of the notorious author, the Marquis de Sade, and his soon to be predecessor, the unlikely Abbé du Coulmier.

(Biography, Drama)

In 1958, the producers of the quiz show "21" had a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has an amazing memory and a broad range of knowledge, but he's also a loudmouthed jerk with a grating personality. The producers' solution to their unattractive champion is to have Herbert "take a dive" so that a more handsome and appealing contestant, college professor Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), can be crowned the champ. Audiences liked Van Doren, and he couldn't really complain about the money he was winning — but the ethics of the situation begin to gnaw at him, especially when the show's producers started to cheat even more blatantly by showing him the questions in advance. QUIZ SHOW offers up a damning portrait of how the network heads and advertising men not only manipulated the outcome of the show, but pushed the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves.

(Biography, Drama, Sport)

RAGING BULL is the dramatic autobiography/biography (at times self-narrated by the protagonist, but generally left to third person omniscient narration) about the infamous middleweight champion boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro). Exploiting his personal and public life, the film adapts the novelty of the black-and-white medium (with an artistic Technicolor Montage midway through) to more closely capture the tense atmosphere that pervaded the unstable career and lifestyle of LaMotta as the film traces his rise and fall as one of the greatest boxers, (character deficiencies aside) of his era.

(Biography, Drama, Sport)

While watching the lives of his neighbors from the rear room of his apartment, a professional photographer recuperating from a broken leg begins to think that the man across the way may have murdered his wife.

(Mystery, Thriller)

Director Nicholas Ray's Oscar-nominated tale of teen anomie runs strikingly against the grain in its depiction of 1950s America. When rebellious teen Jim Stark (James Dean) comes to Los Angeles with his troubled family, he soon falls hard for girl-next-door Judy (Natalie Wood) — and forms a friendship with fellow-delinquent Plato (Sal Mineo). The three of them become surrogate family for each other, offering an unforgettable portrait of Eisenhower-era suburban alienation. An unintentionally deadly game of chicken sparks a downward spiral that ends in a fatal confrontation with police at the Griffith Park Observatory.

(Drama)

Chris Columbus brings the famous Broadway musical RENT to the silver screen with his contemporary vision that includes a poignantly dramatic representation of the harsh life on "A-Street" — where drugs, scandal, and sexual promiscuity abound. Together, seven friends do their best to make it through, with laughter, love, and song — all the while never paying RENT.

Written by: Stephen Chbosky (screenplay) and Jonathan Larson (book music and lyrics).

(Drama)

A small-time 30-year-old boxer in Philadelphia is given a once in a lifetime shot at the heavyweight championship title, when he is picked to fight the current champion, Apollo Creed, in a bicentennial publicity stunt.

Won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Also Oscar-nominated for Bill Conti's anthemic song "Gonna Fly Now," for Best Actress, two Best Supporting Actor nominations, Best Actor and Best original screenplay.

Directed by: John G. Avildsen.

(Drama, Sport)

After Rosemary Woodhouse and her actor husband Guy decide to move into a new upscale apartment in New York City, the couple is quickly befriended by their nosy albeit supposedly harmless neighbors, the Castavets. But when Rosemary's new friend, an acquaintance of the Castavets, suddenly commits suicide, it seems perhaps the rumors about the history of their apartment might be true. With Rosemary's new baby on the way, Rosemary will face the difficulty of attempting to expose a conspiracy without risking the life of her child, or her sanity.

(Drama, Horror)

While American troops storm and die in appalling numbers on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, three Ryan brothers perish on the battlefield in one day, and a fourth is trapped behind enemy lines. High Command assigns Ranger captain Tom Hanks and seven men the dangerous task of infiltrating German-held territory, finding the boy, and bringing him home. Steven Spielberg's harrowing opening scenes at Omaha Beach depict the violence and absolute terror of combat better than perhaps any other war movie ever made, and earned him a Best Director nod in 1998. Superb ensemble acting by Hanks, Vin Diesel, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, and Barry Pepper help make this movie one of Spielberg's finest.

(Action, Drama, War)

SAW is a raw and bloody thriller that tells the story of one deranged man's quest to test unsuspecting strangers by placing them in life and death situations that will force them to either kill or be killed. As the film pans back and forth between the history of the "Jigsaw" murderer's methods and his current "game", audiences watch his latest victims try to think their way out of their deadly predicaments before time runs out.

(Drama, Horror, Mystery)

Seventeen-year-old Charlie Simms is attending an exclusive New Hampshire Prep School on a full scholarship. To earn money for a plane trip home for Christmas, he innocently takes a job over the Thanksgiving weekend, looking after a verbally abusive, head-strong, blind, newly retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, little knowing what adventures are ahead of him.

(Drama)

Oskar Schindler, initially a scheming and opportunistic businessman, gradually becomes the unlikeliest of humanitarians amidst the tumult and barbarism of Nazi Germany in World War II, in director Steven Spielberg's compelling and powerful SCHINDLER'S LIST. Based on a true story, the film depicts Schindler's spiritual transformation as he seduces the Nazi military establishment and amasses a personal fortune, employing Jewish workers who eventually come to depend on him for their lives. He saves 1100 Jews in all under the nose of the Nazis, including two boxcars full of them sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz (the only Jewish prisoners so saved), emerging at War's end a beacon of moral heroism.

(Biography, Drama, History)

Gary Cooper's career-making star-turn as Alvin York, an Appalachian pacifist drafted into World War I, earned him the first of two Best Actor Oscars that graced his long career. In Howard Hawks' acclaimed war drama, Sgt. York single-handedly seizes an enemy platoon in the heat of battle, becoming a national hero. Based on the story of a real-life war hero, Sergeant York was nominated for 11 Academy Awards.

(Biography, Drama, History)

Frank Serpico, a patrol cop turned undercover agent, is a man of integrity. His shabby "hippie" look helps grease his way in with drug dealers and pushers of the street whom he's assigned to bust. His morals, however, prevent him getting payoffs from his busts, unlike some of his fellow officers. Intent on setting things right, Serpico's honesty rubs dirty cops and now he must do his best to evade the life-threatening situations his corrupt colleagues put him in to keep him quiet.

(Biography, Crime, Drama)

In the heart of an unnamed and grimy city, police Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) work to identify the author of a series of grisly murders inspired by the "Seven Deadly Sins" of medieval literature. The murderer, likening himself to the "Sword of God," commits one hideous crime after another, evading veteran Somerset and rookie Mills in the process. But as the detectives work to track down the killer, they find themselves unexpectedly ensnared in his perverse and deadly plan.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

This cinematic classic, filmed by director George Stevens amid the stunning vistas of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, tells the story of reformed gunslinger Shane (Alan Ladd), who's trying to put his violent past behind him. But his will is tested when ruthless cattle barons try to force the community of homesteaders he's joined off their land. Jack Palance is chilling as Shane's villainous nemesis Jack Wilson, and the film's ambiguous ending has sparked conversation among film buffs.

(Drama, Romance, Western)

Perhaps one of the greatest dramas of twentieth century film, this classic tells the tale of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a successful young banker who, after the murder of his wife and her lover, is convicted of the crime and sent to prison. Once there, with the help of fellow prisoner Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), Andy takes back his life and regains control of his destiny, one night at a time.

(Crime, Drama)

In the violent and lawless border area between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is pressed into service by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid in the escalating drug wars. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a shadowy past (Benicio Del Toro), the team sets out on a secret journey that forces Kate to question everything she believes in order to survive. A tense and muscular thriller, Sicario (the word is Mexican slang for "hitman") is filled with superb action sequences and a powerful, frightening message.

(Action, Crime, Drama)

In 1880, four men's perilous journey to the city of Silverado presents them with a slew of obstacles that serve only to set the stage for their final confrontation with the criminals terrorizing the citizens of the once peaceful city.

(Action, Crime, Drama)

Adolescent psychologist Malcolm Crowe's night of professional success is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a disturbed ex-patient who wounds Crowe before committing suicide. After this horrific encounter, Crowe throws himself into the case of a young boy, Cole, who's suffering from a frightening mood disorder. Meanwhile, Crowe's personal life seems to be falling apart. Crowe tries to piece together the mystery of both the young boy and his own personal life.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

THE SKELETON KEY tells of one girl's magical experience while working as a hospice nurse at a Louisiana plantation home. Intending to care for the dying Ben Devereaux, Caroline Ellis performs her duties with a cautious eye as strange things begin to happen in the home. From spooky noises to Ben's terrified stare, Caroline begins to suspect something is terribly wrong... she just never suspected she was the one in danger!

(Horror, Mystery, Thriller)

SLING BLADE is the poignant and eccentric drama of one man and his struggle to function in a harsh, prejudiced society that's all too un-accepting of his mental disability and checkered history. After Karl Childers is released from the state mental hospital, having completed his sentence for his double homicide as a youth, he does his best to get on in a small Southern town. Thanks to a few gentle folk, including a young boy named Frank, Karl is able to get himself on his feet.

(Drama)

Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan born and bred in the slums of Mumbai, is on the verge of winning 20 million rupees on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" On the eve of what could be his final victory, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating, convinced there's no other way for a street kid to have performed so well on the show. Intent on proving his innocence during the police interrogation, Jamal tells his life story, which is revealed to the skeptical police inspector in episodic flashbacks. All of Jamal's quiz show answers are traceable to specific incidents in his life. He claims not to be motivated by a desire for riches. Why then did he try out for the show? The answer may come the next day, when Jamal returns for the final question, to be watched by 60 million viewers.

The cast includes: Dev Patel, Saurabh Shukla, and Anil Kapoor.

Directed by: Danny Boyle.

Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel).

(Drama, Romance)

This light-hearted thriller follows a rag-tag, unconventional group of security experts, who are pressed in service by C.I.A. agents to steal a top-secret computer chip that can decode any computer, putting themselves in a dangerous, deadly game of intrigue.

(Comedy, Crime, Drama)

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming whiz Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and begins working furiously on a new idea. As told in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, what begins in his anonymous dorm room will become, in a remarkably short time, a global social network and a revolution in communication that will make Mark Zuckerberg the youngest billionaire in history... but for this newly iconic entrepreneur, success comes with heavy personal and legal complications.

(Biography, Drama)

SOPHIE'S CHOICE is a beautiful film about one woman's trials through and after WWII as a woman who survived Nazi concentration camps only to feel doomed forever after. Fleeing to America, Sophie (Meryl Streep) meets and falls in love with the charismatic Nathan (Kevin Kline). She hides all of her memories of her time at Auschwitz from him and from a young aspiring writer, Stingo, whom she later meets — who has romantic feelings for her. Just as Sophie had to make a terrible choice at Auschwitz, so too will she make another one that will forever change the way Stingo looks at life from then on.

(Drama, Romance)

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE is a drama/comedy about the travails one family undergoes when husband and wife choose to divorce. A coming-of-age tour-de-force, the film captures the struggles, alliances, and transformations of each family member in their Bohemian life in 1980s Brooklyn.

(Comedy, Drama)

When ambitious young grifter Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) tracks down seasoned flimflammer Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) in 1930s Chicago, they hatch an audacious and dangerous plan to rip off homicidal racketeer Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw) using a phony OTB racetrack scam. In addition to winning seven Academy Awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Directing (George Roy Hill) and Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward), The Sting brought about a popular revival of ragtime music in general, and Scott Joplin in particular.

(Comedy, Crime, Drama)

Her family plantation lost to creditors, faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) seeks solace and comfort with her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where she ends up tangling with Stella's abusive and animalistic husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). Leigh, Hunter and Karl Malden (as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell, one of Stanley's poker buddies) all nabbed Oscars for their work in this controversial adaptation of Tennessee Williams's classic meditation on raw sexuality and lost gentility.

(Drama)

An adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's eponymous novel, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY tells of a troubled man who travels to Europe to confront a millionaire's son, whom he promised to bring back to America. But when Tom Ripley finally meets the lovable Dickie Greenleaf, all bets are off. Scenic honeymoons through the tranquil seas of Italian shores offer a glimpse of paradise. But love, lust, and loss ensue in this psychological thriller!

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

The story of Moses is brought to majestic life by director Cecil B. DeMille in his star-studded rendition of the hallowed Old Testament story. As the adopted Egyptian prince turned Jewish Prophet, Charlton Heston is the embodiment of Biblical righteousness, smashing God's stone tablets in order to chasten his sacrilegious flock. Yul Brynner is the legendary tyrant Pharaoh Rameses, who lives to regret his vengeful pursuit of the Israelites.

(Adventure, Biography, Drama)

The intersecting life stories of oilman Daniel Plainview and charismatic preacher Eli Sunday in the early twentieth century town of Little Boston in California are the subject of THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Plainview is a maniacally driven man who spares nothing and no-one in pursuit of his goals. His son (actually the surviving child of one of Plainview's employees, killed in a workplace accident) and business partner H.W. pays most grievously for this, but Eli Sunday, one of a pair of twins whose family farm Daniel purchases for the major oil deposit located on it, is surely a close second. As the years pass, Plainview builds an empire and grows very powerful, but his business triumphs turn to ashes as bitterness and paranoia close in around him.

(Drama)

James Cameron's TITANIC re-creates in truly spectacular fashion the infamous and ill-fated first and last voyage of the R.M.S Titanic, and the tragic sea disaster of April 15, 1912 that took more than 1,500 lives. Running over three hours, and financed with white knuckles by two major studios (20th Century-Fox and Paramount) at a cost of more than $200 million, TITANIC ranked as the most expensive film in Hollywood history at the time of its release in 1997, and became, against the odds, the most successful film as well. Writer-director Cameron built a 90% scale model of the eponymous ocean liner and employed state-of-the-art digital special effects for the production to thrillingly recapture the vanished sights and sounds of the great ship. Spurred by Robert Ballard's 1985 discovery of the Titanic's wreckage in the North Atlantic, the contemporary storyline begins with the quest by American treasure-seeker Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) to retrieve artifacts from the submerged wreck of the ship. His diamond hunt turns into something far different when he finds instead a drawing of a young woman. When 102-year-old Rose (Gloria Stuart) contacts the crestfallen explorer to tell him that she's the woman in the portrait, she's summoned to the site of the salvage operation to tell her story.

(Drama, Romance)

Southern archetypes fill the screen in this classic adaptation of Harper Lee's beloved novel set in 1930s Alabama, where attorney Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar) defends a black man (Brock Peters) falsely accused of a rape which was actually committed by the victim's father. Meanwhile, aided by their friend Dill (John Megna), Finch's children, son Jem (Phillip Alford) and daughter Scout (Mary Badham), overcome their own fear and the prejudice of the town by making contact with their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley (Robert Duvall, in a memorable acting debut).

#34 on the AFI Top 100. Eight Oscar nominations; three wins, including: Best Actor and Adapted Screenplay. Gregory Peck won 1962's Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

Director Robert Mulligan has crafted a true, American classic out of this absorbing Southern tale, told through the eyes of a young girl, and the experiences of her family. Mulligan received an Oscar nomination for Best Directing.

(Drama)

TOMBSTONE is the classic tale, slightly fictionalized of course, of legendary lawmen Wyatt Earp and his gun swinging gambling buddy, the notorious gentleman Doc Holiday. Together Wyatt, Holiday, and Earp's two brothers, Morgan and Virgil, wine, dine, gamble, and mine their way into the heart of boomtown Tombstone. But when organized crime infiltrates the city in the name of 'Cowboys', it seems the once-retired Earp will again heed his moral obligation to restore justice and order to the growing town with the help of his brothers, and Holiday. But of course there will to be some notorious showdowns first!

(Action, Drama, History)

Set in WWII in 1944, THE TRAIN tells the tale of a German officer who compiles a lengthy list of stolen and priceless modern paintings which are to be put on a train and taken from France before its liberation by the Allied Forces. After vainly attempting to employ a French railway official's help, a sudden turn of events provokes his interference as he attempts to stop the train all the while avoiding vengeful Nazis, hoping to buy enough time for the Allied Forces to intervene.

(Thriller, War, Action)

In TRAINING DAY, Ethan Hawke stars as Jake Hoyt, a rookie LAPD cop who wants to join the elite narcotics squad headed up by 13-year veteran Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). Harris has agreed to give Hoyt a shot at joining his team with a one-day ride-along, during which Hoyt must prove himself. But as the day wears on, what becomes increasingly clear to the greenhorn is that his mentor has crossed the line between right and wrong, enforcing his own morally corrupt code of ethics and street justice. As Hoyt fights with his conscience, he starts to wonder if the ride-along is an audition at all; it's starting to look to him like he's the fall guy in a twisted scheme concocted by Harris.

(Crime, Drama, Thriller)

John Wayne gives an inspired performance in TRUE GRIT, one of his last great screen roles, as the aging and irascible lawman Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, who reluctantly agrees to help teenager Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) hunt down Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey) — the man who killed her father. Wayne won a Best Actor Oscar for the role, in a script he said was the best he'd ever seen. The dramatic showdown between Cogburn and Chaney ranks high among the Duke's list of noteworthy cinematic moments.

(Adventure, Western, Drama)

It's taken awhile, but insurance man Truman Burbank has slowly begun to suspect that the seaside town he's always known as home is in reality an elaborate, immense sound stage, where his every move is watched by the world, and all the people around him are paid actors or actresses.

(Drama)

After the tragic homicide/suicides of her mother and father in her childhood, a distraught Jessica Shepard is taken in by her late father's one-time police partner, Officer Mills. Years later, stricken with the need to set things right, she takes up the uniform, working her way up the legal ladder. Recently promoted to Homicide, Jessica teams up with Detective Del Marco to crack a serial case in which all the victims are linked to one thing: herself. In a twisted labyrinth of red herrings, TWISTED keeps you guessing about why this tempestuous woman seems to have been touched by the kiss of death.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

In the sleepy town of Big Whisky, cowboys sometimes vent their frustrations on the local prostitutes, and sometimes in the most horrific fashion. Despite Sheriff "Little Bill's" attempts to avenge the disfiguring knife attack perpetrated by a cowboy who took offense when one of the working girls impugned his manhood, her friends place a bounty on the man, which attracts the young gun 'Schofield Kid' and his aging doppelägnger William Munny. The latter, a reformed cowboy, lives peacefully on a farm, raising his family the best he can as a farmer (a trade for which he is not particularly gifted). The irritable Munny in turn calls on Ned, his old partner. Together they two ride off for one last violent adventure, leaving audiences to ponder just where heroism leaves off and villainy begins.

(Western)

David Ames is a young, successful New York city magazine publisher whose good looks, power, and charm make him an object of envy among his co-workers and highly attractive to women, including long time partner Julie, and the newly-discovered ingenue Sofia. Then a run-in with Julie is horrifically wounding to Ames, and leads to an unexpected turn of events. Ames finds himself in prison, disfigured and wearing a facial prosthetic, and discussing the depths of his tortured psyche. With his psychologist trying to deduce the reasons behind the death of Ames' girlfriend, Sofia, it seems they must uncover the death of another person first. But who is this "mystery person", and why does Ames think it has something to do with an innovative technology company?

(Fantasy, Mystery, Romance)

WALK THE LINE pays stunning homage to the Man in Black — country/rock music legend Johnny Cash — as well as his loyal friend and wife-to-be, Mrs. June Carter Cash. Beginning with his childhood the film takes you through the major events that shaped Johnny into a rock crooner who won the heart of audiences. With standards like "sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll" the stellar cast and compassionate vision of the story bring to life the amazing love story between two icons of 1960s music and their struggle to 'walk the line'.

(Biography, Drama, Music)

A startling adaptation of Edward Albee's famous Broadway play, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF captures the psychological warfare between a married couple as they banter, drink, fight, and snarl their way through a marriage stained by a very dark secret. Into this marital snake pit come unsuspecting newcomers Nick and his mousy wife, Honey, who have no idea what misery, suspense, terror, and mayhem they're in for at the hands of the venomous Martha and George.

(Drama, Romance)

Director Sam Peckinpah's darkly brilliant 1969 Western epic tells the story of a gang of aging outlaws, led by Pike Bishop (William Holden), whose disastrous plans for one last job force them into fateful collusion with a corrupt Mexican general (Emilio Fernández) that ultimately leads to bloodshed and death. Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Jaime Sanchez co-star in this special edition, featuring never-before-seen outtakes and three exclusive documentaries.

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION received six Oscar nominations. Best Picture, Best Actor (Charles Laughton), Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.

(Drama, Mystery, Thriller)

For ten years, an elite group of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves single-mindedly to the goal of finding and killing Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks. ZERO DARK THIRTY reunites the Oscar-winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) to tell the story of America's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man. Taut, suspenseful, and brilliantly made, ZERO DARK THIRTY depicts the hunt for bin Laden with intelligence and a keen eye for detail.

The cast includes:
Jessica Chastain,
Joel Edgerton, and
Chris Pratt.

Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow.

Written by: Mark Boal.

(Drama, History, Thriller)

Adapted from a true story, ZULU retells the harrowing tale of a British Army massacre at the hands of Zulu warriors, who killed 1,500 British soldiers at Isandlwana in January 1879. Shortly thereafter the Zulu gathered a tribe of 4,000+ strong to wage war against an inept British hospital where no-one but a handful of the infirm and a few able-bodied British soldiers and Welsh infantry can offer a defense. What follows is carnage in a bloody 12hr+ battle where British troops under the command of Lt. John Chard (Stanley Baker) of the Royal Engineers and Lt. Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine), fight for their lives. Endfield's adaptation is realistic in depicting this hallmark moment in Western Imperialism and British rule in Africa.